[Metadata]
name = The Constellation Slayer
id = TCS_001
init_level = The First Message
global_source = CONSTELLATION SLAYER

[The First Message]
pre_narrative = From your office window, the dull glow of city lights stretches out before you. Below, the streets pulse with life, but you know beneath the surface something darker stirs.\nA killer -- the Constellation Slayer -- has been terrorizing Brooklyn for months, leaving behind nothing but blood and cryptic messages. \nThese messages, a twisted puzzle, seem to be his calling card, hinting at his next brutal act. But why does he do this? What is the point of his game?\nBefore you can even finish the thought, the phone rings. You pick it up immediately, already knowing what it means. Another murder.\nThe urgency is clear in the voice on the other end. "We're on our way."\nYou arrive at the scene minutes later, the air thick with the scent of blood. A body lies sprawled in a dimly lit alley, and the walls nearby are covered in a grotesque scrawl.\nThe killer's message. There's no time to waste. The clock is ticking, and you have to crack this puzzle before more lives are lost.
quote = THE STARS TOLD ME ABOUT YOU, DETECTIVE. MORALS ARE CONSTANTLY UNDERGOING CHANGES AND TRANSFORMATIONS, OCCASIONED BY SUCCESSFUL CRIMES. I HAVE A WAREHOUSE FULL OF THE BODIES OF DETECTIVES LIKE YOU.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = The message seems clear enough -- he's taunting you. But you can't shake the feeling that there's a deeper clue hidden inside. You sleep on it, the question lingering in the back of your mind.

[The Warehouse Revelation]
pre_narrative = The next day, your phone rings. Without needing to hear the voice on the other end, you already know what it means.\nAnother victim, found in a warehouse in Red Hook.\nThen it hits you -- the damn warehouse. You think back to the first message: "A warehouse full of the bodies of detectives like you." It wasn't just a taunt.\nThe killer had already told you where the next body would be, and you missed it. You curse under your breath, feeling the weight of failure.\nYou arrive at the scene in record time, greeted by the familiar chaos. A body lies in the corder of the abandoned warehouse, blood spattered across the floor.\nThere is a single piece of paper pinned to the wall with a knife. Great, another puzzle to solve.
quote = THE STARS KNOW YOU TOO WELL, DETECTIVE. MAN IS CONDEMNED TO BE FREE. PERHAPS YOU WILL FIND SALVATION AT A CROSSROADS.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = He's definitely leading you to the next murder. "Crossroads" -- that is clear enough. You make a call to the department to surveil every intersection in Brooklyn.

[Crossroads of Fate]
pre_narrative = A few days later, you're in the office trying to piece together the identity of the killer. You're looking through past cases to see if there could be a connection, when you hear a ring.\nYou already know what the call means. You pick up the phone and learn the location of his next kill: Our Lady of Angels Church in Bay Ridge.\nDamn it! You misinterpreted the meaning of "crossroads" in his last puzzle. You arrive at the church just after dusk. The old-constructed building looms against the dark blue sky. The streets are so quiet, you can hear a pin drop.\nThe expressions of the officers are grim. You don't look forward to seeing the scene.\nImmediately, three smells hit you: burning candle was, aged wood, and the smell of blood. You make your way to the altar, towards the victim's body. His body is nailed to the cross, at the neck. And on the nail, there is a piece of paper with writing scrawled on it.\nGreat, just great. Another puzzle from the Constellation Slayer.
quote = ALL THINGS ARE BENEATH THE STARS, DETECTIVE. IF YOU GAZE LONG ENOUGH INTO AN ABYSS, THE ABYSS WILL GAZE BACK. YOU MUST SEARCH LOWER AND DEEPER INTO THE ABYSS.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = This time you're sure you understand the message -- "lower" means the next murder will be somewhere underground.\nOn the other hand, is this guy quoting Nietzsche? What a nut job.

[Bad Ending #1]
pre_narrative = It's another late evening, and you're still trying to crack the case of the Constellation Slayer. You head to your apartment in Bay Ridge, settle in, and greet your dog. Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door.\nYou know who it is before you even turn around. You don’t need to hear the footsteps or see the shadow in the hallway. You’ve already lost. There’s no escape, no clever deduction that can change the outcome now.\nHeart pounding, you turn to face the inevitable. Standing in the doorway is the Constellation Slayer, his eyes gleaming with that same cold, knowing look. The smile on his face is the final piece of the puzzle you never solved.\nAs the light fades, your last conscious thought is the realization that you were just another piece in his game -- a pawn to be sacrificed, now nothing but a memory.

[Placeholder]
pre_narrative = This level does not count.
quote = XV XLV IX: AM I EXCESSIVELY VISCIOUS, DETECTIVE? THE STARS DO NOT FIND ME SO. AT THE RIGHT TIME, VIRTUE AND VICE WILL BE REVEALED. 
letter_hints = STAR

[Good Ending #1]
pre_narrative = You caught the Constellation Slayer! You are hailed as a hero.

[Into the Abyss]
pre_narrative = The last few days, officers have been searching underground. The team has spent the last 24 hours poring over sewer maps, basements, and abandoned subway tunnels.\nSomewhere beneath the streets of Brooklyn, another body is waiting to be found. You are searching one of the abandoned tunnels when suddenly, the call comes in.\nA body has been found in an old maintenance tunnel near Prospect Park. By the time you arrive, the forensic team is already working.\nThe victim is positioned face-down in a pool of stagnant water, their body twisted unnaturally. His heart has been ripped out of his chest and is lying on the floor.\nAbove him, letters are scratched into a brick wall. Time to solve a puzzle from the Constellation Slayer.
quote = THE STARS HAVE BLINDED YOU, DETECTIVE. TO FULLY FATHOM ONE'S HEART IS TO UNDERSTAND ONE'S NATURE. TO FOLLOW ME IS TO WALK AMONG THE DEAD.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = This clue is easy. Surely the next body will be found in a cemetary.\nNo matter how many of these puzzles you crack, you don't feel closer to the Slayer. Perhaps you need to fathom his heart, first.

[A Grave Situation]
pre_narrative = You have been searching cemetaries for the past week. Suddenly, you get a phone call. Of course you know what it means.\nAnother body, this time found in Green-Wood Cemetery.\nThe cemetery is silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the cold night air. Fog drapes over the tombstones like a burial shroud. You step carefully over uneven ground, your flashlight casting long, shifting shadows.\nThe body is propped against a weathered headstone, hands folded neatly over the chest in a cruel parody of rest. A candle, barely flickering, sits at their feet. The wax is still warm.\nAbove the victim, nailed into the stone, is a note -- another challenge from the Constellation Slayer.\nYou take a breath and pull it free.
quote = THE STARS DO NOT WEEP FOR THE DEAD, DETECTIVE. DEATH IS NOTHING BUT THE ABSENCE OF SENSATION WHICH IS ALSO NOTHING. FIND ME WHERE THE DEAD STILL SPEAK.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = "Where the dead still speak." What the hell does that mean?

[Where the Dead Still Speak]
pre_narrative = You've been searching for the meaning behind the clue. You get a phone call. The body was at the morgue.\nThe dead "speak" there, in their own way -- through forensic evidence, through the wounds left on their bodies. You arrive in a hurry. The victim is laid out on the table, a thin sheet covering their form. The coroner pulls it back, revealing something carved directly into the victim's skin.\nYou lean in to read the words. Another puzzle from the Constellation Slayer.
quote = THE STARS DEMAND A RECKONING, DETECTIVE. DEATH IS THE SEPARATION OF SOUL AND BODY AND THE PHILOSOPHER DESIRES SUCH A SEPARATION. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD SEARCH WHERE JUSTICE IS HANDED DOWN.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = The message is clear -- the killer is leading you toward a courthouse. You call the department and tell them to search the courthouse.

[The Archive Lead]
pre_narrative = Maybe it's an archive?

[Judgment's Seat]
pre_narrative = You've been searching for the courthouse connection. You get a phone call. The body was in a courtroom.\nThe building is unusually quiet, the halls echoing with your footsteps. Inside the courtroom, the lights are dim, and a single chair sits at the center of the room. It's empty. But something catches your eye. A bloodstained piece of paper is pinned to the back of the chair with a large knife.\nYou approach cautiously and pull the paper free. Another puzzle from the Constellation Slayer.
quote = THE STARS WILL WATCH YOU, DETECTIVE. OUR SOCIETY HAS BECOME SO BAD AND SO CRIMINAL ONLY BECAUSE SHE HAS RESPECTED NOTHING BUT HER OWN PRESERVATION. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD SEEK THE END OF THE LINE, WHERE THE LAW IS NOT SO CLEAR.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = The message is hauntingly clear. "The end of the line" -- it could mean death row. You call the department and tell them to search the state penitentiary.

[The End of the Line]
pre_narrative = You've been searching for the meaning of "the end of the line." You get a phone call. The body was at the penitentiary.\nInside, the air is thick with finality. Officers guide you to the area where the most dangerous inmates are held. You reach the death row wing. A single inmate is scheduled for execution, but it's the empty chair in front of the cell that catches your attention. A note is nailed to the back of it.\nYou pull it free. Once again, the Slayer's cryptic message stares back at you.
quote = THE STARS TELL NO LIES, DETECTIVE. THROWING OURSELVES IN THE MIDST OF OUR ENEMIES MAY BE A SIGN OF COWARDICE. SEARCH WHERE SHADOWS LEAD.
letter_hints = STAR
post_narrative = "Where shadows lead" -- it seems to point toward something hidden. You call the department and tell them to search for dark alleyways.


